The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1887-04-02
4 Newspaper Bohemian.
BY FANNIE MAY TROUSDALE.
CHAPTER X,

SNM ness and relief that Stephanie
MlA@s bade farewell to Whiteville and
eSSsf Miss Jones, who huttered her
little handkerchief from her front gate
as long as the train was in sight.
The sorry little nosegay of scraggy
late chrysanthemums which were
pressed upon her in departing, sus-
gested their hardy but unlovely donor
they were part and parcel of White-
vile, and the one could no more bios
som into beauty aud sweetness, planted
in such soil, than the other.
II will keep these as memento,"
S,ephanie had told Miss Jones, and
into the thin, hardened face flashed
and vanished CLEAN OF wintry sun
shine. The sweet face of her young
guest had awakened the ashes of embers
long dead.
But this Stephanie knew not Of.
The over-weening curiosity irritated
her, and she had been long suffering at
the hands of her own sex since starting
out in the newspaper business. Natur-
ally of retice1t and exclusive dispo-
sition, the sense of being always on
parade, and the butt of gossip and in7
quisitiveness was to her excessively
unpleasant. She had almost gotten 10
hate womankind.
It was not long after her WhitevilIe
that she spoke of this in a
letter whose destination was Ashville.
81 wonder II you will think me uu-
generous If say that most OF the PIN
pricks which I receive, are at the
hands of my own sex? have mind
to tell you of one OF my experiences.
1t was in, shall not say what town.
Suffice it to say, sat waiting in the
parlor of a very uninvitiug hotel, after
my name down to be regis
tered. Presently there dawned upon my
vision, very much blown from mount
ing the stairs, my Iandlady. She said
good morning, and sat down on the
extreme edge of her chair, a good dis.
tance from me, and as she was very
stout l felt some uneasiness for her
safety.
$50 you're Il agent for a newspa-
per-"
GA literary paper, man." I cor
rected mildly.
"Well, wanted to ask you a few
questions before registering YOU"
I bowed.
IL don't want you to take any ex-
ceptions at 'em till you know my
reasons. You haven't got dog along
with you, have you, that will be ex-
pec;ed to use my best room, and eat al
the first table?"
I was too astonished to reply.
"You don't take folkes' names down
and never send 'em your paper:"
"Madame," rose Indignantly to my
feet, but sat down again hclplessiy at
her next query.
"You don't ride on the top Of freight
trains SOS to ssee the country:'"
My face must have plead innocent of
all these charges-I was spec chless with
and astonishment--for my
landlady sat an inch or two further
back on her chair and showed other
sigus of thawiug.
"I had just such customer not long
ago-a piert and sassy piece she was
too, and made up my mind never TO
take in another agent. After bothering
me pretty near to death with waiting
on herself and dog, she wanted me TO
charge her only half rates because she
belonged to the press!' But you don't
look nothing like her, except'n if !
was you l wouldn't wear that feather
in my hat. She hnd one just like it.''
This is not a fancy sketch. It's a
sample of what ! sometimes undergo.''
And the winter days wore on; bleak
and very lonely up in the land OF the
sky, made glad only by an occasional
letter; cheerful and contented in the
Byrne household filled wi n many
comforts from the brave true heart
toiling away in strange ciiies and
towns, and growing lighter day by
day, as their number grew less, and
the thought that with the spring of the